Travolta security man tells of 'blackmail demand'
A paramedic who treated John Travolta's son in the Bahamas threatened to go to the media with private information unless the movie star paid 25m (€17.16m), an employee of the actor told a court.
Ronald Zupancic, a security specialist for Travolta, said he was the one who told his boss of the alleged demand in the days following his autistic son Jett's death in January.
He said ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne contacted Travolta's lawyers through a lawyer, former Bahamas senator Pleasant Bridgewater, who is also facing extortion charges.
"He had a document that he contended was incriminating to Travolta," Mr Zupancic told the jury in Nassau.
The document, which Travolta signed, would have cleared the ambulance driver of liability if the family refused to send 16-year-old Jett to the hospital.
The star said last week that he initially wanted his son flown to Florida for treatment after a seizure on January 2 that resulted in Jett's death.
But Jett was treated in the Bahamas and it is unclear why the defendants allegedly believed Travolta would pay to keep the document private.
The trial began on September 21 and is expected to last several weeks.
Travolta is expected to give further evidence later in the trial.
